What Lies Buried in the Past
by KasumiSaruka
Summary: Luka Megurine has seemingly a happy life but things soon change after ravenous nightmares begin to reveal an ominous presence within her. A friend from her past has come back to haunt her conscience and make her remember a forgotten promise. That promise is one that bears more than she can ever know and threatens not only to tear her apart but possibly endanger everyone around her.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Tantalizing Dreams and Ominous Presence

And so it began…I was deeply submerged under the water sinking slowly down, my legs kicked and lashed out feverishly in an attempt to get to the surface but to no avail I kept on drowning only prolonging my already decided fate. The water around me had gone black and the lights at the surface had long since faded so literally all I felt was the immense pressure building up around me. Slowly the sensation of fire in my lungs turned into a numb melancholy feeling as I began to accept my fate.

At least it was dark and at least it would soon be over and the overhead pressure became unnoticeable and my fears subsided. I closed my eyes and felt nothing but serene and deafening silence, the amount of time I could withstand not taking a breath was at its peak, I was bursting until I could take it no more, and just as I was about to take my fateful last breath I felt a vice-like grip on my jugular forcing me to swallow nothing. The pain and jostling urgency I felt after that could only be described as a shortness of breath but there is nothing to breath, my body inhaled nothing yet I was awake and alarmed. The surroundings began to come in on me and I felt like I was shrinking, yet a force beyond myself was forcing me to fight just as I was about to succumb to the sweet surrender of not fighting but now I had to fight. The pain I felt demanded to be known so I reacted to it. The grip on my throat felt like a hand trying to choke me but something was also trying to force me up to the world beyond my black ocean.

Then I remembered and knew, just as always and has ever been, I will not be allowed to quit, I will not be allowed to leave everything behind. Even though I know there is no way that this presence was near to me the notion of a person was so premeditated within me that no matter where I go I will always feel the ominous presence of that person even within my nightmares. Even when I am not in reality they will find me, just like they did so long ago…..Finally I was seeing the light above me as I lunged forward and upward with every last ounce of strength in my body. I felt like a dead weight while thousands of needles poked me and gravity tried to shrink and crush me into nothing but I kept fighting because if I didn't I would continue to suffer.

The hand on my throat remained a reminder that even though they were not there they would always remind me of the promise I made. My life meant little else than to keep this promise to that person and even in dreamland they would not let me break that promise. Hate and pain urged me forward, even a slow death would have been preferable to the rage dwelling inside me than to fulfill what that person wanted. But often times we do not have a choice, I made a sacrifice long ago for that purpose, we give things up to save the things we care about. Feeling broken and enraged I finally saw the first traces of light. That light would be the memory I keep in my head to remember the truth about that day, when I should have died I lived, but someone saved me. The person that saved me did not care about my life, but obviously there was something they wanted so when I should have died I lived. Almost dying changes things even if it was just a dream. It makes you wonder just how fragile life is and what you are alive for…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Some Random Creeper and the Haggard Looking Girl

I woke up the next morning feeling completely unrested and unnerved, I could even feel a slight feeling on my neck making me wonder if that dream last night was real.

_Under water, crushed by the pressure, and then before I succumbed to sweet surrender I was forced to fight for my life._

I wonder if that person remembered that promise from so long ago, I sure did, but it had been so long since I acknowledged it honestly forgot about it until recently. BLEEEEEEP! BLEEEEEPPPP! My alarm sounded and I jumped a little into the air breaking my train of thought.

"Ugg I hate alarms!" I shouted and then got up. I walked over to the mirror by my dresser and sighed, "Well I guess it looks like I fought for my life as well." My pale pink hair was all over the place and tangled and my face pale and my eyes looked tired and alarmed.

"Meh, Luka Onee-chaanaann, why did you have to wake me upppp? And I was having such a good dream too, I think I was about to be kissss..." My sister IA paused for a moment and then gasped, "What did you do Oneee-chan! You look terrible, did you sleep at all last night!?"

As usual my sister spoke her thoughts sincerely without really thinking about it, but even though she was brash with her words she had a kind heart as well. I loved IA for that, she may be annoying but she was fun too. I replied, "Not really I had some weird dreams at night, they are so vivid I literally felt like I experienced them."

"Well whatever it is I hope it stops soon because it is making me get less sleep too, and I don't want to end up looking like you!" IA snorted and then preceded to lie back in her bed again and then mumbled, "But I hope your dreams aren't too scary like they used to be."

I smiled and then jumped on her bed grabbing my sister and play wrestling like we used to when we were little to which she responded with various annoyed grunts but then smiled and pushed back.

I laughed as I pinned her down, "Don't worry I am older now plus I can even beat you in a fight so I will beat those dream demons!" We laughed and then got up because after all it was a school day for both of us. I somehow managed to tame my wild hair back in a ponytail and makeup made me look human again, but if only my eyes didn't show how I truly felt I could almost pass as a normal human.

Leaves swirled in the wind as I made my way up to the gates of the University. The wrought iron was covered in age-old ivy and looked every bit imposing and elite as the Victorian style buildings behind it, I had worked hard to get to this University so I planned to do my best regardless of the amount of sleep I had. Something about the history and the atmosphere of seriousness exuded knowledge and tradition. Secretly it made me feel excited because it was like being part of a novel I read once and the main character attended a similar school, I was a literature junkie so I often associated places and things with things I read or seen in books or manga.

As I passed the rotunda of the library I noticed through the window a figure inside looking swiftly through several books as if searching for one particular fact. The seriousness of the search caught me a little off guard because most of the people at the university were never hasty and always graceful with minimal movements as if to appear stoic. However as I met the persons gaze they suddenly stopped their search. I could see now deep blue eyes and an intense face of a boy staring at me. We held our gaze with an almost electric connection, I didn't understand it but he seemed to be searching me as we had our staring match. Finally I broke the gaze and hustled past the window. Something about that gaze felt accusing or rather familiar, it gave me the same feeling as my dream had right at the point I was breaking through the water to the surface. I didn't want to dwell any further so I headed off too class.

My first class was an Anthropology course in Human Anatomy and Mechanics in a low brick building at the far edge of campus near all the science laboratories. I huffed as I rushed up the stairs to make it too class in time. I actually enjoyed this course so I intended to be one time to get a good seat up front. I saw my friend Meiko sitting up front and holding a seat for me. As I made my way over to where I could make out her Brown hair I goggled as I got closer and closer. She was always seemingly perfectly put together and never had a hair out of place. Today she wore a light tan sweater dress with black leggings and killer black stiletto boots. It made my own Hoodie and blue high-top sneakers feel second rate.

"You almost were late for lecture, lucky I saved you a seat eh?" Meiko said in a low voice.

"Yeah it's almost full in here but it was a weird morning" I replied short of breath after hustling to class.

"Seems like it, you look a little haggard and lost, and maybe a little annoyed too I guess."  
I sighed and gave her a brief overview, "I didn't sleep hardly at all last night and there was a weird guy in the library staring at me for no apparent reason, plus I had to rush to get here"

"Well creepers tend to do that, but with your appearance honestly anyone's gaze might linger a moment or two"

"Is it that bad" I asked.

"Well first off your getup in a little different than most peoples here and you do look a little haggard. But you are also pretty despite the lack of fashion sense and sleep." She reported informatively as if giving a well-memorized essay.

"Thanks I guess" was all I could reply. Meiko was right I looked especially bad today and it didn't help my wardrobe was that of a teenage boy. The professor arrived and silenced everyone so class could begin. I quickly lost my thoughts and put all my focus into taking notes. The rest of my day went on like this since I had 4 classes back to back until 2 that afternoon.

I had just finished a math class and felt a major headache coming on. We had started some difficult material and my energy was wavering to nothing plus I hadn't had anything to eat yet all day.

I followed the cobblestone path up to the school cafeteria. My favorite place to eat was by the flower gardens near it so I walked over to an empty spot on the low brick wall and took out my sandwich and apple. The warm sun felt good on my skin and as I ate I begin to have better clarity. I gazed around me and saw some students reading intently, playing Frisbee on the grass lawn, eating at the tables, and some people taking photographs together. I loved being in such a diverse place, it was so much better than high school. I often told IA about that and she always told me "I know Onee-chan high school is so boring and I bet there are so many boys there!" I giggled as I thought about that, my sister always pretended to be boy crazy but in reality there was really no one she liked and she often turned down several people who asked her out on dates.

I exhaled and said "I wish I had her problems."

"Whose problems?" a voice answered me catching me off guard? I didn't recognize the voice but I felt a strange sensation of creepiness come over me.

I turned around and was surprised to see the staring boy from earlier standing casually a few feet away from me with his hands in his pockets looking mildly amused. There was a cocky smirk on his face but his eyes retained an intense glare making his casual posture seem almost intimidating.

Despite his strange vibe I decided to be polite but nonchalant, "How may I help you?"

He smiled which made him seem less intense, "You haven't answered my question from before, but there is nothing I need help with" He replied.

I decided to get straight down to the backbone of what was bugging me, "So what was with the staring this morning? I don't believe I know you and you seem to have something to say, honestly it was a little creepy."

"Ha-ha, I guess I was being a little creepy, but you reminded me of someone and I am sort of on a quest right now."

Not a response I was expecting but I was intrigued by the quest thing so I decided to be bold, "Well what is this quest, and whom do I remind you of?"

He lost his smile and stared at me again, intently. Then he replied, "It's for a school project. I am a pre-law student so I was assigned to look at old unsolved cases, however I ran into one that intrigued me quite a deal but there are several roadblocks. It seems the evidence is skewed and based largely on eye witness accounts. It is baffling, but as I was searching for the information of the witnesses I found a list of names. They changed the names to protect the people I think, but you seem to match the physical description of one of them to the T. And I guess it was like the first real thing about the case that was easy to find or rather it jumped out at me. So that's why I stared at you."

His confession was surprisingly long and shocking. It was because of a case that caused him to stare at me, and only because because I possibly matched someone from it. Odd and he seemed so grim and intense as he talked about it. No doubt he chose his major well, I felt imposed by him and all lawyers to me seemed overbearing and with serious personalities.

"So I don't really remind you of someone you know, just someone you read. That's an odd thing, but I guess I can understand."

He smiled again and instantly his face was more welcoming and his blue eyes seemed more joking now.

"So sorry if was a creeper earlier I just was way into my search so sort of get lost in my own mind"

I couldn't help but smile at that, so many times I did the same thing, getting so absorbed in reading or research I lost my persona. "Well I understand, so tell me more about this case, I want to know what character I apparently am in it."

He snickered and replied, "Well it is a young university student that's female"  
"Very generic and undescriptive, it could be anyone"

Then he smirked, "Well she also had long pink hair and blue eyes. She was also suffering from insomnia at the time as well…"

"WhATTTT!?" I stammered, "Is it that obvious!"

He then giggled, "Well a little your eyes are tired and you nearly tripped several times"

He saw it, everyone must see it, Meiko was right. Now I just felt embarrassed. "Well college tends to do that, but losing sleep to study is what you have to do sometimes!"

"Yeah I pull an all-nighter at least once a week"

I could very well relate since last week I had a huge math midterm, a research project, as well as my club activities. "Haha College takes away people's lives I guess"

"Yeah totally, I wish it was more like high school" He responded

"I don't high school sucked and was a waste of time I would rather be here and studying what I want"

"Well I guess someone didn't like high school very much. I hated it too honestly I did the same thing for 3 years and really nothing ever changed"

"Well A LOT of things changed for me in high school."

I sighed and looked back. A lot of things did change. For one I moved, and for another thing something had happened that changed who I was forever. I gazed down at my watch: 3:15 it read.

"SHIT!" I yelled "I am going to be late to my last class!"

He smiled and said, "Well you better get going then, I have one last class as well."

I got up and gathered my things and gobbled the rest of my sandwich. As I was getting up I suddenly remembered introductions were a thing, "Oh, and I am Luka Megurine by the way, first year. Nice to meet you. Oh, and Good luck solving your mystery."

He smiled again, "My name is Kaito Shion. Second year and pleasure to meet you. And thanks I will let you know what kind of person you apparently are in this mystery."

I smiled and replied, "Looking forward to it. See you later!"

I waved and started walking away. He called back, "See you around Luka"

I then broke into a jog to make it to my Bio lecture in time. On the way I thought about things had gone today, the Creeper turned out to be nice, and I was really a haggard mess. There was something about him though. He reminded me of the desperate feeling I had as I broke through the surface of the water in my dream. Just who was he and why did I warrant so much attention from him, surly it wasn't just some coincidence of being similar to a witness in an old crime case…


End file.
